Customer Reviews

The Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique: The Illustrated Step-By Step Guide to Perfectign Your Exercise Form for Injury-Free Maximum Gains

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Don't let the lurid title put you off. This book is not a tabloid-style mishmash of misinformation. It is a sound, sane instructional manual that will teach you how to lift weights safely.

Most of the advice you get in the gym is worth exactly what you pay for it--nothing! Even when you pay for it, you oftentimes get garbage. I once had a personal trainer in a gym show me the "correct" way to benchpress. The result? Severe rotator cuff tendonitis. When I read this book, it explained exactly what was wrong with the personal trainer's advice and why I wound up injured.

Some folks think you make "progress" by toughing it out and working through injuries. The way to make progress is to do the exercises properly and not get injured in the first place. If you want to make maximum progress, read this book and apply its principles. You can't go wrong.

There are trainees out there who are bench pressing 90lbs of iron for twenty reps who praise themselves after doing it, but know in the back of their mind that their right wrist is starting to get a little sore from their workout. When moving onto the barbell curl that wrist just hurts too much to complete a full set. Well "pain is gain" so they drop the set and go back to the dressing room knowing that it will be two weeks before they recover. Try giving the same trainee "The Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique" and watch them reduce the bench press from 90lbs to 45lbs for eight reps maximum. "What has gone wrong?" they might ask. "Why have I suddenly gone from brawn to frailty?" The truth is that nothing is wrong. They are just learning to do it right this time... and they will gain more because of it. While motivation bodybuilding books like "Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding" by Arnold Schwarzenegger, will certainly show you the vast majority of exercises that are required for a great high volume training (HVT) program, it does not go to great length to show you everything that you need to know about doing the exercises correctly and the pitfalls of doing them incorrectly. Danger workouts include the Vertical Machine Press, Straight-Arm Pullover, Bent-Over Barbell Rows, Bent-Over dumbbell Rows, T-bar rows and the One-Arm Dumbbell Row to name but a few. Although nearly everyone can get away with doing these exercises in small amounts without injury, they are considered high risk exercises and long term applications can prove absolutely disastrous. If the basic low-risk workouts can cause injury when executed without perfect form do you really want to increase the odds of getting an injury by doing high-risk exercises with bad form? While "The Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique" does not promise an injury free bodybuilding career it will firmly establish conditions that will prevent injury. If you can workout as much as you like as often as you like and do not need to nurse an injury then naturally the result is a gain rather than a loss that could have been avoided. Every exercise you learn from a book or a magazine should be cross-referenced with "The Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique" to see what it has to say. Even bench pressing professionals who have been at this for years will find that their form is not as good as what this book can prescribe. On first impressions I was seriously considering the fact that I had bought into another dud back page bodybuilding book that had hyped itself beyond its real value. I was concerned to find that it only contained 34 exercises and was full of self-proclaimed praise commercials all over the front and back cover. I have since come to learn that those adverts are there for good reason and 34 exercises expanding on perfect form is no small amount. The fact that it covers the big three - Bench Press, Deadlift and Squat is enough to substantiate the $20 price tag. It also includes Back Extension, Cable Row, Calf Raise, Close-Grip Bench Press, Crunch Abdominal Work, Curl, Decline Bench Press, Dumbbell Row, Finger Extension, Grip Machine Training, Incline Bench Press, Leg Press, Lever Bar Work, L-fly, Neck Work, Overhead Lockout, Overhead Press, Parallel Bar Dip, Partial Deadlift, Pinch-grip Lifting, Prone Row, Pulldown, Pullover, Pullup/Chin, Pushdown, Rader Chest Pull, Shrug, Side Bend, Squat, Stiff-legged Deadlift, Thick-bar Hold and the Wrist Roller Training. I had given up on ever doing a Close-Grip Bench Press. I guessed that some exercises are just not for some people. It took me several readings of the Bench Press section to understand that even though I believed I was executing right angle holds I was not, meaning that my hands where too close. When I was told to bring them in closer for the Close-Grip Bench Press I just ended up murdering my wrists and elbows. This book eventually taught me that my Bench Press was more of a Close-Grip Bench Press and my Close-Grip Bench Press something that was just begging for an injury. I can now perform both. Also I am more aware of back arching where I thought there could not possibly be any. All you need to do is to look at the pictures in "Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding" to see that even these professionals had no qualms about using a photograph where there is evidently bad form being used. You can literally see the holes after learning from "The Insider's Tell-All Handbook on Weight-Training Technique". It is also the kind of book that becomes more useful the more you use it. This is by no means a quick-fix booklet but a much needed and much sought after bodybuilding manual. I would certainly read and learn everything in here before I consider any other book outside of it. While the Schwarzenegger bible is a great motivation tool this book is really where you want to focus. Forget all the other books about different training methods until you get perfect form right first and then you will be in a much better position to judge other training methods, especially the ones that tend to have an impact on executing perfect form correctly. For some reason other books and bodybuilders keep making reference to slow and controlled exercising to avoid injury. They erroneously call this `perfect form' from time to time. Injury has nothing to do with the speed or control of the exercise. Injury occurs because of bad form. But once you perfect form you should go slowly. If there is any advocate for `one method' in bodybuilding that can improve on gains then that `one method' is learning perfect form. I will update this review as I do more research/practice. Until then...

Astalavista baby!

*Updates*
- His other book "Brawn" teaches doing the big three progressively for the best gains - Squats, Deadlifts and Bench Press, so learn them and do them.
- Read "Brawn" after you read this.
- read "Beyond Brawn" for advanced training material.
- Watch out for the "Breathing Pullover" exercise. This can cause shoulder discomfort. Stop doing them if you feel your shoulder pulling.
- Pushdowns are for toning triceps not for building tricep muscle. Use dips for that.
- Have someone show you the deadlift before you do any.
- Dumbbell incline bench press on p.93 is not the best. Bring elbows up to shoulder level and dip them slightly. Go slow getting them back into this position.
- He has a book called "Build Muscle, Lose Fat, Look Great!" that has updates on form with other good info.

I have transformed my skinny, 133 lb. six foot tall gangly physique to 212 lbs. (Went DOWN an inch in my waist in the process). There were "commercial celebrtity" bodybuilding books by the hundred to mislead and waste my valuable time and effort. I can honestly say that I have read them all. While many of them are as thick as as most encyclopedias, they contain little, if any, useful knowledge. Those silly celebrity books were written only for those who enjoy wasting lots of time and effort. This is not a good thing if you want to accomplish something as noble as increasing the strength and health of your body. When INSIDERS came out a few years ago, I was amazed at the truth in its information dense pages! It is my sincere hope that beginners will discover this magnicent book before making the host of huge mistakes that almost everyone makes before they finally learn how to get into shape. I am the founder and owner of an educational personal training gym and am myself a writer. I could not have written a better book than Stuart McRobert if I tried. Hats off to a genuine labor of love. Nothing comes close in illustrating, step-by-step, the detailed safe process of building strength and muscle for beginners or advanced alike. Nothing. Treat this book like you would a master.

Theres nothing really more to say.

He tells you how to lift weights, then he tells you stuff only those old guys in the corner of the gym would tell you if they weren't so anti-social. Technique, tips, ideas, and great concepts.

This is the book that people wish they had when they started lifting. If you're just starting out now, this is the book you NEED to have. It teaches you what the productive (ie - strength and size producing) exercises are and how to do them effectively and safely. There's even a section on flexibility management. Each exercise is written up in great detail along with alternate forms of the exercise, tips, and practices to avoid with each exercise. Also, every exercise is illustrated with photographs that, when combined with the text, show you exactly how to perform each exercise safely and effectively. I strongly recommend this book to everyone who trains with weights.

I have been weight training for 35+ years on and off. It took a long time to realize there is no "magic bullet" that will make gaining strength and a decent physique possible. Just hard work, consistency, good mental attitude, a sensible diet, proper rest, and aerobic exercise.

Fundamental is doing the right exercises in the proper way, avoiding injury, and not wasting time on what does not work. This book is not for you if you are looking for different exercise routines. He does not go into routines. If you are looking for a book that clearly and realistically lays out how and which exercises to do that will give you maximum benefit this is the one. As us senior weight trainers realize, limiting and avoiding injury is all-important. This book is excellent in this respect.

Disregard the bizarre review from New York on Sept. 22, 2000. I am not sure which book he read (or what he got out of it) but he is clearly off base regarding McRobert's book. The best I have found in all the years I have been training and reading weight training how-to books. Highly recommkended. Hard to find but worth the effort.

I can't really say enough good things about this book. No, it's not perfect, but it's heaps better than most of the books on weight training. This focuses specifically on safety and technique, not on routines or dieting. The author is currently putting out a new book with revised directions from this book and all the training/dieting info in one handy package. I can't wait to get it. A bit expensive but I'd rather spend forty bucks on reliable, one-volume info than waste my time and money on countless less helpful books and magazines.

Helpful photos, not only of good form but also common mistakes to avoid.
Clear explanations, almost excessive pointers about what do keep in mind as you do each exercise. The author is super-orthodox about safety and form, which may put off a lot of young guys, but if you've had a single back injury you will really appreciate his point of view. It's the type of thing that you don't want to think about until you've been there and suffered!

I had some pretty bad tendonitis before I came across McRoberts books. What can I say but that I am now twice as strong, and injury-free.

This book is essential for a weight trainer: It contains instructions on more or less all the exercises a sensible weight trainer would perform, and those instructions are detailed, covering just about all there is to cover about these exercises. The only omission, IMO, is the one-hand deadlift.

If you have the choice between a personal trainer and this book, there is no doubt: Buy this book! If you want both, make sure your trainer has read this book first. A lot of common technique errors that prevail even among so called professionals are straightened out in "The Insider's ...".

What more? The book does not provide the information on how to put together a sensible program, and that is not its intention either. For that, I recommend two very useful books on training, namely Clarence Bass' "Challenge Yourself!" (you'll get lean in the process) and the heir to the book that started the good progression for me: McRobert's own "Beyond Brawn".

This book should be on the shelf of every weight-trainer!! McRoberts has taken the time to genuinely address the realities of correctly performing virtually every safe strength producing movement available(Olympic lifts excepted). In my own experience it has allowed me to progress from constant minor injuries to none in less than a year while at the same time learning to both deadlift and squat correctly. The information in this book, when followed, will let you lift intensely, without injury. In my case it also explained how I was being injured by my technique before I'd been exposed to this book.
The only criticism of this book that I've ever run across is that Stuart erred on the conservative side and did not include a few productive movements that are generally safe for most people.
With that said; I must tell you that this book is, hands down, the best book on lifting technique currently available anywhere on the market.

Considering the fact that an injury could cost you hundreds of dollars, this book is a great investment. This book is written for real people without outstanding genetics.
Every single weightlifter without exception should own this book. It is amazing that 90%+ of weightlifters use form on lifts that leads to injuries, joint damage, etc. If you talk to someone who has lifted consistently for a long time, it is almost gaurenteed that they have had a lifting injury.
After reading this book, I have been able to lift with a new level of confidence and break through a plateau.
This book will keep you healthy and strong, which should be the goal of any weightlifter.